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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Calvin women's swimming and diving team had a record-breaking opening day at its own Calvin Winter Invitational.
The Calvin 400 medley relay team of junior
Isabella Gable (Greenville, Oh./Arcanum-Butler HS), sophomore
Haley Thier (Scranton, Pa./Scranton Prep), junior
Maggie Farrell (Portage, Mich./Portage Central HS) and sophomore
Sydney Sonday (Portage, Mich./Portage Central HS) took third place in a school-record time of 3:48.57, breaking the previous Calvin record of 3:50.34 that had stood since 2009.
The time is a strong NCAA III B' cut qualifying time and places Calvin third on the national qualifying list.
Calvin led off the meet with a second place time of 1:33.97 in the 200 freestyle relay. The Calvin relay of Farrell, Sonday, freshman
Meghan Bengelink (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian HS) and Gable missed a school record in the event by less than two-tenths of a second. The time was also a strong NCAA III B' cut qualifying time and places Calvin second on the national list.
Gable later placed second in the 200 IM (2:07.17) while Thier was fourth (2:07.92.
Sonday produced a top-10 (Division III) national time in the 50 freestyle, placing third with a time of 23.65 while Farrell was fifth (23.72).
In the 500 freestyle, Calvin also scored points in the C' final as sophomore
Megan Pankratz (Palatine, Il./William Fremd HS) was 22
nd (5:24.86) and freshman
Kristin Winkle (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) 23
rd (5:25.89).
Calvin is competing in a seven-team field which includes nationally-ranked Division II schools from Grand Valley State, Findlay and Northern Michigan. The Knights are currently in fourth place in the team standings with 326.5 points.
COACHES COMMENT: "Our women are determined to make a name for themselves," said Calvin head swim coach
Dan Gelderloos. "They set the table tonight with the way they competed. It was awesome to see."
NEXT UP: Calvin continues with day two action on Friday with prelims set for 10 a.m. and finals set for 6 p.m. inside the Venema Aquatic Center.
